Human beings have long carried articles by attaching them to belts worn around the waist or hips. Such objects have included canteens, weapons, food carriers, and the like. In modern times, for example, photographers may carry cameras, lens systems such as telephoto lens systems, and other photographic gear in pouches or carriers suspended from a belt worn about the waist or hips.
An article to be carried by a belt may be permanently or releaseably attached to a definite position on the belt. Alternatively, the article may be attached to the belt by a sleeve or the like so that the article may be moved along the belt as needed in order to access the article or to wear it in the most comfortable position.
A belt carrier system that provides for both types of attachment at the choice of the wearer is needed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,881,933 to Rogers, entitled “Track Member System” discloses a system for carrying containers suspended from a track member which may be attached to a body encircling belt or attached to clothing which includes a pair of protruding tracks substantially parallel and from which the containers for holding articles are suspended by clips on the containers which are attachable to the tracks anywhere along the lengths thereof or positionable lengthwise on the tracks by sliding thereon at tapered ends of the tracks. This system includes a clamp in the form of a planar wedge for locking the container in place on the tracks to prevent the container from sliding along the tracks to an undesired position and inhibiting forceful unintended removal of the clip and container from the tracks without removal of the clamp.
The track member system of Rogers is complicated and expensive to make because its construction requires the provision of two parallel and protruding members and a rigid clip attached to a carrier that is specifically shaped to receive the parallel members and thereby hold the carrier on the belt. The security of the attachment of the clip to the carrier depends on how well the clip encloses the members so that failure of that enclosure will cause detachment of the carrier from the belt. In addition, the planar wedge clamp is complicated and requires the provision of additional components.
One of the inventors of the present invention, Douglas H. Murdoch, has previously filed provisional application no. U.S. 60/611,655 for a “Carrier System” (Patent Coordination Treaty application PCT/US2005/34036 filed on Sep. 20, 2005 and published as WO 2006/034421 claims priority from this provisional application) directed to, generally, a system comprising an elongated planar member or belt to be worn by an animate bearer such as a human being having an outside surface facing away from the bearer's body and an inside surface facing toward the body of the bearer, at least one loop or pocket attached to the outside surface of the belt, and at least one carrier for an object comprising a sleeve having a first end attached to a body of the carrier and a second end detachably attached to the body of the carrier, the first end and the second end of the sleeve being spaced apart at their respective places of attachment to the body of the carrier so that the second end of the sleeve can be folded over the belt and attached to the body of the carrier, and further comprising a tab of stiff material having a first end attached to the carrier at or near the junction of the first end of the sleeve to the carrier and a second end remaining unattached, the tab having an axis generally aligned with the sleeve, the second end of the tab being capable of being inserted through one of the loops of the belt when the sleeve is folded over the belt for attachment of the carrier to the belt and thereby fixing the carrier with respect to the belt so that the carrier substantially may not be slid along the belt whereas if the tab is not inserted into a loop when the sleeve is folded over the belt the carrier is not substantially fixed with respect to the belt and therefore may be slid along the belt. (The disclosures of provisional application no. U.S. 60/611,655 and PCT application PCT/US2005/34036 published as WO 20061034421 are incorporated by reference as if fully disclosed herein to the full extent permitted by treaty, law, and regulation.) In this configuration the sleeve is generally placed between the belt and the body of the wearer. This may require the wearer to either loosen the belt or suck in her breath in order to remove the sleeve from the belt or to slide the carrier with respect to the belt.
What is needed for is an improved carrier system that provides for attaching articles to a belt that provides for the articles to be releaseably attached at a fixed position on the belt or, in the alternative, to be in a slideable relation to the belt.